Julian Smith Floors, Upsets Shohjahon Ergashev Via Split Decision

Julian Smith is now the author of two major upsets in 2024.

Shohjahon Ergashev was the latest victim, as the former title challenger was outworked in a split decision defeat. One judge had it 95-94 for Ergashev, overruled by matching 95-94 cards for Smith in their DAZN-aired ten-round junior welterweight bout Saturday at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan.

A fifth-round knockdown provided the margin of victory for Smith (9-2, 5 knockouts). It should not have come down to that. Ergashev avoided a second-round knockdown call and looked flat for much of the night.

Action was mildly paced for much of the bout, which worked to Smith’s advantage. Ergashev was (24-2, 21 KOs) failed to establish his jab and signature body attack. It resulted in an uneven offense for the Detroit-based Uzbek southpaw, who was booed by his adopted home crowd for much of the night.

The first real threat of an upset surfaced at the end of the second round. Smith—a legally deef boxer from the Chicago suburb of Country Club Hills—hurt Ergashev with two separate right hands. The latter sent him to the canvas but was inexplicably waved off as a slip.

Smith made it count just before the midway point of the fight. A counter left hook floored Ergashev near the end of the fifth round. This time, it was ruled a knockdown and sounded off the alarm that disaster loomed ahead.

Ergashev picked up the pace, to a degree, in the second half of the fight. He landed his left hand with greater consistency, along with the occasional looping left to the body. Smith took the shots well and enjoyed continued success with right hands and counter left hooks.

With the fight in the balance, Smith made sure to force the pace in the final two rounds. He wasn’t always effective offensively but his aggression was enough to dull Ergashev’s output.

It resonated on two of the three cards, as Smith has emerged as the unlikeliest of prospects. He stopped previously unbeaten Orestes Velasquez in the ninth round of their Feb. 2 DAZN-aired clash in Orlando, Florida.

Ergashev has now lost twice in his past three starts. The once-feared contender was stopped after five rounds versus Subriel Matias in a failed IBF 140-pound title bid last Nov. 25 in Las Vegas. He rebounded with a first-round knockout earlier this year but it’s back to the drawing board for the 32-year old.

In the evening’s co-feature, Michel Rivera was dominant but had to settle for a split decision victory over Hugo Roldan.

Judge Rosemary Gross (95-94) somehow found five rounds to award to Argentina’s Roldan. Her God-awful scorecard was overruled by more appropriate tallies of 98-91 and 99-90 for Rivera (26-1, 14 KOs).

Roldan was not without his moments and briefly hurt Rivera in the opening round.

Rivera–a Dominican contender now based in Worcester, Massachusetts—quickly adjusted and largely controlled the action. He floored Roldan with a perfectly timed counter right inside the final minute of the fight.

Roldan (22-3, 7 KOs) beat the count and made it to the final bell but has now lost three of his last four starts.

Rivera has now won two straight since a Dec. 2022 defeat to Frank Martin in Las Vegas. He also tested positive for Hydrochlorothiazide and triamterene, which came with a six-month suspension and $10,000 fine. The fight was his last with German Caicedo; Saturday marked his second under new trainer Ricky Gonzalez.

Both bouts took place on the Claressa Shields-Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse DAZN undercard.

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